Absolument Absinthe

Pascal Rolland is the CEO of LIQUORISTERIE DE PROVENCE, and in 1999 he re-introduced absinthe to Europe with the Versinthe brand, after over a year’s work in partnership with Marc Villaceque, an expert liquoriste and nose from Grasse. And while he was perfecting and distilling this new absinthe, Pascal Rolland became fascinated by the smell of the juice, the soft intriguing green herbal scent that permeated the air around his distillery and came home with him on his clothes. To him it was beautiful, so good, in fact, that he wanted to bottle it. Back to work once again with Marc Villaceque, and in 2006 Absolument Absinthe was introduced - a perfume which recreates the addictive scent of the subtle but complex Versinthe absinthe.

If you’re expecting an exotic dark scent to match the mythology of the Green Fairy, this isn’t it. Absolument Absinthe (Absolutely Absinthe) is a soft green scent, that according to M. Rolland was designed to work with personal chemistry to become a skin scent which on women tends to be more floral, on men more spicy and herbal, according to the website.

Absolument Absinthe opens bright green, with a hint of mint and fennel, so that it smells fresh but really interesting because there’s an herbal note that I can’t name – the wormwood or the cannabis?As the top notes fade somewhat, the scent becomes slighty soapy and super-clean like drugstore packaged soap and I’m thinking this frag is going to fall off a cliff, when it shifts into a light powdery violet growing on top of a pile of fresh dirt.

Into the heart notes, the black tea and herbs become more potent, mixing with citrusy bergamot and the white florals. This slightly sweeter floral heart with green edges expands and becomes light and luminous, and as the dry-down develops, becomes richer and warmer from the sandalwood and musk basenotes. The woody notes deepen the floral and herb mix, and the soft musk makes the scent float on your skin seductively.